Fluid motor



Dec. 8, 1931. H. E. MUSSELWHITE 1,3359173 FLUID MOTOR Filed Sept. 19, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 8, 1931. H. E. MUSSELWHITE 3 1 FLUID MOTOR Filed Sept. 19, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIi /////////////////Z,

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FLUID MOTOR I Filed Sept. 19, 192a a Sheets-Sheet s "rm l Patented Dec. 8,

P? U TE- PATEN a Hana! E. or.- PORTLAND, OREGON um Moron r Appfiea tioit hkd September 19, 1928. Serial. no} 306,962.

a My 'invention relates to improved radial blade fluid motors driven by the continuous thus forming a seal between intake and 1D exhaust ports.

a This type of mar nas-not, inliny opinion been eflicient,' for the contactof the revolnble member with the .wall of the housi'ngiis only at a point so that" leakage of fluid between 1 the intake and-exhaustports occurs and hence loss of power. s r A still further loss of power and hence decreased efiiciency is 'cau'sedfby' the fact that as the blades rotateythe space betweenthe bladesand the housing wall-varies; due'toj-the fact that'the rotor is arranged. eccentrically in the motor housing;.which varies thecompression of the fluid in the said space between the blades and destroys'the balance of pres= sure betweenthe fsaidspaces thus creatinga back-pressure andresistance to the operation ofthe-motorand evenjin the case of fluids of density stop-ping'the motor;

Still further, after abladehas'passed the intake port and received its impulse from the fluid pressure, itis carriedalong by its momentum or theimpulse ofthe next blade and of course producesn'o further power;

The object ofmy'inventionis toprovide an eflicient' radialbl'ade fluid motor having simple and effective means to prevent leakage of fluidbetween the'intake and exhaust ports of the motor by providing a surface contact 7 betweenthe housing wall andtheperiphery of the revolublememberi f A further object is to" provide means in the housing wallsto equalize the'pressure'in thespaces between the blades jasth'ey' rotate, whereby furtherresistance to the operation 45 of the motor will beleliininated anda secondary impulse will be givenfeachjblade,

after it has passed the intakeport". 1 I attai" these objects in a radial blade fluid the housing between t the intake and exhaust Radial blade otors have heretofore been motorhaving a recess in the ahnular' Walliof portsin which a shoe is. firmly secured a its end adjacent the said exhaust port and the front face of the shoe for part of its lengthis substantially concentric with the periphery of the rotor. and in'contact'therei with andforms a fluid tight 'surface contact therewith. l

Further I provideconnectingffluid ductsin the annular wall ofthe housing andthe op positeends of said shoe communicating with said ports respectively'whereby the fliiid pressure between the blades may be equalizedwith that the intakeport. it

These and. other incidental obj feats, the de; tails of construction and themode of op:

eration of my fluid motor areichereinafter fully described with panying drawings;

In'the drawings: i j j Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of my motor and illustrates diagrammatically the relative centres ofthe revoluble member orrotor,'and the radial blades therein; i i V Fig; 2 shows on .a reducedscale an ext'erior v1ew of my motor as shown inF fig." 1; F igi 3 shows an elevationof my motor look ing in the direction pointed bythe arrow 3 in Fig.2;

reference to the accom Fig. 4 shows a sideelevation of motor 7 partly in section "looking inthe direction pointed by-the arrow 4' of Fig. 3;

V Fig. 5' shows a transverse section'taken on.

the line 55lof Fig 6;" F.

Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal section taken.

"Fig; 7'showsin a central longitudinalsection of the various parts ofnlyfmotor'sepa-w rated one from'the other;

Fig; 8 shows a transverse section 'ofthe' of Fig.5; A L t Fig. 9 shows a'per pective'viewofithe an? nular housing of'my motor?" Fig; 10 shows a; perspective View of the housing-of my motor taken. onthe line'8 S radial blades removed from-the rotor of' the motor; V, M 1m Figs. 11' and 12 show opposite "groups, re; spectively, in perspective of the two halves com osi'n -the rotorand 1 Fig. 13sh ows the interior aceofm side plate of the housing and illustrates certain details of construction.

With reference to the figures in which my motor is shown diagrammatically, an annular housing a, is provided, formed with a tangentially arranged intake port I) and a radially arranged exhaust port 0.

The housing a is closed at its sides respectively by plates d and e secured thereto by bolts a. The plate 0 is formed with a central lubricant chamber f on its exterior side. and with a central stub-shaft g on its interior side. At the base of the stub-shaft g is formed an eccentric shoulder h surrounded by an annular groove 2'. The eccentricity of the shoulder h is towards that portion of the housing between the ports 5 and 0. V

A lubricant passageway j leads from the chamber f, through the shaft 9 into the housing and ducts g are provided in the said pas sageway, so that lubricant is evenly distributed throughout the motor, from the center outward which distribution is assisted by the centrifugal force of rotation.

Rotatably mounted on the stub-shaft g are three radial blades 0, p, 'q,Fig. 10. Thethree blades are identical and comprise bifurcated arms 0', p, g, respectively and each arm is provided with hubs 02, 22, 2 and the arms are so spaced as to be arranged one within the other and the hubs 02, p2, 2, mounted over the said shaft The blades 0, p, g, are arranged within a hollow, divided revoluble member or rotor 1 secured together by bolts 7 in radial slots 2, 3, 4. The rotor 'r is provided with a central opening 5, on one side and a central out- Wardly projecting shaft t on the other. The opening 8 is provided on its periphery with an annular flange a, forming a bearing surface adapted to be seated in the annular grooved and to bear on the eccentric shoulder h, of the side plate 0 of the housing. The shaft t is journalcd in the side plate (Z; on antifriction bearings 42, and is the driving shaft of the motor to which suitable gears or the like may be attached for transmitting the power of the motor to work to be done.

The radial slots 2, 3, 4 in which the blades are mounted, are similar in shape and are formed wedge-shaped at their inner ends and with semi-cylindrical recesses 2a, 3a, 4a, in which similarly shaped freely moving segmental bushings 10, 11, 12, are provided to permit a slight pivotal movement of the blades within the rotor, during rotation, which is due to the difference in radii and the eccentricity of the housing and the rotor.

In the interior face of the housing a between the ports I) and c is formed ashallow arcuate recess 14, and in the said recess, adjacent the exhaust port 0, an arcuate shoe 6 is secured at one end by bolts-5, and the curvature of its interior face is similar forv a portion of this length to the curvature of the periphery of the rotor 1'. The depth of the recess 14 is such as to provide a space 14a between the back of the shoe and the wall of the housing. Packing 5a is inserted between the shoe and wall of the recess, at the portion secured to the housing by the bolts 5.

Adjacent the intake port Z) are provided three parallel grooves or ducts 8, projecting towards and tapering to an end in the shoe 6. A single groove 8a is provided at the other side of the port 6 and tapers to an end in the opposite direction.

Similar grooves 9 and 9a are provided at each side of.the exhaust port 0, respectively, tapering towards an end at one side in the shoe 6, and .at the other side of the port,in the housing wall. r

When my motor is assembled and in operation, the blades 0, p, q, are rotated about the concentric shaft gby fluid entering under pressure through the port 6,. and thus are held in fixed spaced relation from the walls of the housing, approXimately1/5000 of an inch, thus eliminating frictional resistance to their rotation, but at the same time preventing substantial leakageof the fluidpast them. V

Therotorr. being rotatably mou nted on the shoulder 71,, which is eccentric relative to the housing, is carried by the rotation of'the blades, thus driving the shaft The radius of therotor r is equal to the length of the radial blades, and due to its eccentricity and to the fact that .the shoe 6, is slightly spaced from the wall of the recess 14, and fluid entering thesaid space behind the shoe projects it slightly within the inner circumference of the housing, so that the rotor will be in surface contact therewith, due to the fact that the curvature of the shoe is equal for a substantial portion of its length to that of the periphery of the rotor 1', thus preventing leakage between the intake and exhaust ports, such as is the case when there is merely a point contact, formed by the contact of two dissimilar curved surfaces.

However, to prevent the fluid pressure which enters the space 140 behind the shoe from creating a braking'action on the rotor, the extensions of the grooves. 8 and 9 in the said shoe serve to permit a portion of the fluid pressure to bear against the other side of the shoe, and thus counter balance the pressure exerted against; each of its sides and prevent the said possible breaking action. V then in operation, the volume of the space between the blades of the motor changes, first to increase and then to decrease, due to the different centers of the rotor. and the housing, thus tending to cause an unbalanced pressure in the spaces between the blades.

Furthermore, aftera bladehas passed the intake port, it has received its impulse and thereafter is ,carriedby its momentum or theiimpulseof the next blade. i

' be a smallspace between the'blade and the tween them with the said The groove 8a extends from and in ad- Vance of the port I), so that as a blade has exhaust port 0 and connects the space beport, permitting the excess blade and be released.

As the blades continue to'rotate and the blade p passes the exhaust port there will point of contact of the housing r with the shoe, thus the grooves 96; serve to permit the escape of any trapped pressure between the blade and contact of the housing with the shoe. These features are'important in that Without the grooves the motor will not operate with fluids of higher density than air, such as water,.which being incompressible will lock the motor, until such trapped pressure is released. i

The grooves 8, in the shoe 6, leading to the intake port, serve to permit the escape of pressure, which may prematurely pass behind the blades before they reach the intake port 6.

I claim: I

1. In a fluid motor of the character described including an annular housing having intake and exhaust ports and a rotor carrying radial blades, the rotor, being eccentrically j ournaled in the said housing, the combination of a recess in the interior wall of the housing between said exhaust and said intake ports, a substantially inflexible shoe secured adjacent one end in said recessand adapted to bear against said rotor, fluidpres:

sure spaces provided between said shoe and said wall, said spaces communicating with said ports respectively, pressure grooves provided in said interior wall extendlngcircumferentially from said ports, the said shoe provided with auxiliary pressure grooves.

communicating with the pressure grooves in said wall, whereby the effect of thefluid presure in said cavity between said wall and said shoe will be partially counteracted by the fluid pressure in said auxiliary grooves to prevent the shoe from bearing too closely on said rotor. I 2. In a fluid motor of the character described including an annular housing having intake and 8a creates a. secondary building up the V with ing passed over groove 9, which leads to the pressure to pass ahead of the 7 shoe provided with grooves at each end communicating with the said intake ports, a substantially inflexible shoe secured adjacent one end in'said recess and adapted-to bear against said rotor, fluid pressure spaces provided between said shoe and said wall, said spaces communicating said ports respectively, pressure grooves provided in said interior wall extending circumferentially from said ports, the pressure grooves extending from said intake port adapted tobuild up the pressure in the rear of each blade adjacent to said intake port, and the pressure grooves extending from said exhaust port adapted to release the pressure in advance of said blades on each side of said exhaust port,the said auxiliary pressure pressure grooves pressure in said cavity be tween said wall and said shoe will be partially counteracted by the fluid pressure'in said auxiliary grooves to prevent the shoe from bearing too closely on said rotor.

{3; In a fluid motor of the characterdescribed including an annular housing having intake and exhaust ports and a rotor.

carrying radial blades, the. rotor being eccentrically j ournaled in the said housing, the

' combination of a recessinthe interior wall a of the housing between said exhaust and said intake ports, a substantially inflexible shoe secured adjacent one end in said recess and adapted to bear against said rotor, fluid pressure spaces provided between said shoe and said wall, said spaces communicating with said ports respectively, pressure grooves provided in said interior wall extending cir cumferentially from each side of said ports, the pressure grooves extending from said intake port adapted to build up the pressure in the rear of each blade on each side of said in take port, and the pressure grooves extending from said exhaust port adapted to release the pressure in advance of said blades. adjacent to said exhaust port, the said shoe provided with auxiliary pressure grooves at each end communicating with the pressure grooves in said wall, whereby the effect of thefluid pressure in' said cavity between said wall and saidshoe will be partially counter: acted by the fluid pressure in said auxiliary grooves to prevent the shoe from bearing too closely on said rotor.

7 HARRY E. MUSSELW'HITE.

exhaust ports' and a rotor. carrying radial blades, the rotor being ec- 

